Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Nearly half of working families are cutting back on food or clothing to pay rent or mortgage. Shelter and pollsters YouGov found that the equivalent of 3.7 million families say they have cut back on buying essential food or clothing to pay their mortgage or rent.

Rising house prices and rents caused by a shortage of affordable homes mean the average household now spends 29 per cent of its monthly income on housing costs. Those locked out of the housing market who privately rent fare even worse, spending 43 per cent of their salaries.

A total of 44 per cent of households surveyed said they had had cut back on those items. Around one in 5 – 19 per cent – said they had had to cut back on buying children’s clothing, while around one in 10 – 9 per cent – said they had skipped meals.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said, “These figures are an acute reminder of the tough choices that working families are having to make to keep a roof over their children’s heads. Any one of us could hit a bump along life’s road, but with housing now taking up the lion’s share of people’s pay-packets, any drop in income can all too quickly leave families at risk of losing their home.